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Sugar, Sugar
| Length = 2:48 | Label = Calendar, Kirshner, RCA Records | Writer = Andy Kim, Jeff Barry | Producer = Jeff Barry | Prev_title = Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O.) | Prev_year = 1968 | Next_title = Jingle Jangle | Next_year = 1969 | Misc = }} }} "Sugar, Sugar" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. It was originally recorded by the cartoon band the Archies. This version reached number one in the US on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1969 and remained there for four weeks. It was also number one on the UK Singles chart in that same year for eight weeks. The song became a hit again in 1970 when rhythm and blues and soul singer Wilson Pickett took it back onto the charts (see below). The Archies version Background "Sugar, Sugar" by the Archies was produced by Jeff Barry, and the song was originally released on the album Everything's Archie. The album is the product of a group of studio musicians managed by Don Kirshner. Ron Dante's lead vocals were accompanied by those of Toni Wine and Andy Kim. Together they provided the voices of the Archies using multitracking. The song was initially released in late May 1969, on the Calendar label (the same label as the two previous Archies singles), achieving moderate chart success in the early summer in some radio markets, and was re-released mid-July 1969, on the Kirshner label, when it then attained massive success nationwide by late summer/early fall. Upon its initial release, Kirshner had promotion men play it for radio station executives without telling them the name of the group (due to the disappointing chart performance of the Archies' previous single, "Feelin' So Good (S.k.o.o.b.y-D.o.o.)", which only went to number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts). Only after most of the DJs liked the song were they told that it was performed by a cartoon group. Several sources have stated the song had originally been offered to The Monkees, although songwriters Barry and Kim deny this. Reception A week after topping the RPM 100 national singles chart in Canada on September 13, 1969 (where it spent three weeks), it went on to spend four weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 from September 20. It spent a total of 22 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 and was the 1969 US number-one single of the year. It was classified by the RIAA as a gold record in August 1969, Search Artist: Archies meaning it sold 1 million units (the gold threshold was later lowered to 500,000). It is ranked at number 81 on HOT 100 60TH ANNIVERSARY. It also spent eight weeks at the top of the UK singles chart and peaked at #1 in the South African Singles Chart. On February 5, 2006, "Sugar, Sugar" was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame; co-writer Andy Kim is originally from Montreal, Quebec.Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved from: https://www.cshf.ca/song/sugar-sugar/ Although official music recording sales certifications were not introduced in the United Kingdom until the British Phonographic Industry was formed in 1973, Disc introduced an initiative in 1959 to present a gold record to singles that sold over one million units. The awards relied on record companies correctly compiling and supplying sales information, and "Sugar, Sugar" was erroneously awarded a gold disc in January 1970 having sold approximately 945,000 copies; RCA Records informed Disc that one million copies had been shipped, however not all were sold. Nevertheless, following the introduction of music downloads in 2004, "Sugar, Sugar" passed the one-million sales mark. The song was featured The Wonder Years episode "Double Double Date", and was later used in a fantasy sequence in The Simpsons episode Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood, where Homer is dancing alongside giant ice cream cones and lollipops on a desert island.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701072/ "Sugar, Sugar" was also featured in the 1995 movie Now and Then, the 2005 movie The Sandlot 2, and in Jerry Seinfeld's 2007 film Bee Movie.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389790/soundtrack IMDb. Bee Movie (2007) - Soundtracks. Chart performance Weekly charts Year-end charts All-time charts Personnel The studio musicians on the Archies song are: *Ron Frangipane – keyboards *Gary Chester – drums *Joe Mack AKA Joey Macho – bass *Dave Appell – guitar *Sal DiTroia – guitar *Ray Stevens – handclaps *Toni Wine – vocals *Ron Dante – vocals Wilson Pickett version Background In 1970, American singer Wilson Pickett recorded a cover version of "Sugar, Sugar" in his Criteria Studios sessions. Pickett's rendition of the song was produced by Dave Crawford, Jerry Wexler, Rick Hall, and Tom Dowd. The track was released by Atlantic Records as the second single from his tenth studio album Right On. Reception Wilson Pickett's cover of "Sugar, Sugar" peaked at number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It also reached number 4 on the R&B chart. The parent album Right On reached number 197 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The Wilson Pickett recording of "Sugar, Sugar" was later used in the 1997 film The Ice Storm. Chart performance Personnel *Wilson Pickett – vocals *Eddie Hinton, Jim O'Rourke, Jimmy Johnson – guitar *David Hood, Harold Cowart – bass *Barry Beckett, Billy Carter – keyboards *Roger Hawkins, Tubby Zeigler – drums Cover versions The song has been covered by various artists: * 1969: The Sands * 1969: Bob Marley & The Wailers |last=|first=|date=|website=SecondHandSongs}} * 1970: Tom Jones on the album Tom * 1975: Gladys Knight & The Pips in the album A Little Knight Music * 1977: Ike & Tina Turner on the album Delilah's Power * 1980: Sarah Dash on the album Oo-La-La Sarah Dash * 1994: Duke Baysee this version features rap verses. * 1995: Mary Lou Lord featuring Semisonic on the album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits * 2005: Nitty covered this song under the title "Nasty girl" on the album Player's Paradise * 2010: Inner Circle covered this song was titled "Candy Girl" featuring Flo Rida, on the album State of da World * 2012: Olivia Newton-John on the soundtrack for A Few Best Men * 2017: Cast of Riverdale References * The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, fifth edition. . Billboard Books. 2003 External links * Category:1969 singles Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles Category:Number-one singles in South Africa Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles Category:Number-one singles in Germany Category:Number-one singles in Norway Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Category:The Archies songs Category:Wilson Pickett songs Category:Songs written by Jeff Barry Category:Songs written by Andy Kim Category:1969 songs Category:Number-one singles in Mexico Category:RCA Records singles Category:Atlantic Records singles